Chained at the Ankle
by Mikauzoran
Summary: Shinichi has Kid right where he wants him, and Kid doesn't really have any objections. Who would complain when cuffed to their crush in the honeymoon suite of a luxury liner three hours from shore? Only neither boy has the courage to confess. A little wine strips them of their inhibitions, but, afterwards, will they be honest about their feelings?
1. Chained at the Ankle

Mikau: Hi there and welcome! Thanks so much for taking the time to check out my work! This is another one those picture prompt writing challenges I do when I have writer's block. The picture was pretty much as the fic describes the scene. Again, I have no idea who drew the picture, but it was pretty, and it inspired me to write this, so thank you very much to the artist! I hope you enjoy the fic!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, Mouri would eventually wise up a bit. I know he's one of the comic relief characters, but I think we can take him a little more seriously every once in a while. Like in that time bombed rental car episode. That was beautiful.

…

Chained at the Ankle

"Could you at least _try_ to look a little put out by the fact that I caught you?" Shinichi grumbled.

Kid blinked, looking down at the shiny cuff around his ankle that attached him via a long chain to the detective who was wearing a matching cuff around his own ankle. Kid picked up his foot and was out of the restraint in under ten seconds.

"Hey!" Shinichi whined.

Kid blinked twice. He slipped the cuff back around his ankle and tightened it until it locked in place. That seemed to appease the sleuth.

"As I was saying, when we reach the port in…"

"Three hours and twenty-three minutes." Kid shrugged, mentally wincing. He was starting to sound like Hakuba. They'd been spending too much time hanging out lately, and the Brit was beginning to rub off on him.

"…in three hours and twenty-three minutes, the police will be waiting to take you into custody," Shinichi proudly reported.

"So all you have to do is keep me entertained until then," Kid chuckled, taking a seat on top of the coffee table. "Shouldn't be too hard considering that this is the honeymoon suite, and we've got a bottle of wine—nice vintage—and a marvelous view of the unsullied night sky out our window. Look at the full moon. It's so romantic, Tantei-kun! You shouldn't have!"

Shinichi crossed his arms and took a seat on the couch behind Kid. He looked a lot like a sullen child. Kid had seen that expression more than once on Edogawa Conan's face. Okay. Obviously the detective was not amused with Kid's insinuative teasing.

"Right. Anyone up for a rousing game of Crazy Eights?" Kid hesitantly peeked over his shoulder. He could feel Shinichi slicing holes into his back with his dagger-sharp glare.

Shinichi continued to sulk menacingly.

"So…what's a nice detective like you doing on a ship like this?" Kid fished. It was a stretch, but maybe it'd start a conversation. I mean, they did have three and a half hours to kill, and he might as well do it in his rival's company before making his daring escape with the gem in tow.

"I'm here to catch you," Shinichi snorted rather…indelicately. "You sent a notice, remember? You think I like wasting my Friday nights on luxury liners?"

"I wouldn't know." Kid shrugged. At least he'd gotten a response this time. "You are rich, and a lot of rich people enjoy this sort of thing. To be fair, you're not the typical little rich boy. So…see any good movies recently?"

"How about we don't talk?" Shinichi replied tersely.

"For four whole hours?!" Kaito exclaimed, whipping around to stare incredulously at his captor of sorts.

"It's closer to three." Shinichi shrugged, looking away.

"How about no?" Kid smiled pleasantly, picking up the bottle of wine and uncorking it. "Usually I don't drink on the job, but it does seem like a terrible waste to not drink this, don't you agree?"

"You're underage," Shinichi retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Phantoms are ageless." Kid smirked, pouring two glasses.

"Yeah, and under that silk hat and monocle, you're a nineteen year-old who's too young to drink," Shinichi alleged.

Bull's eye.

On the inside, Kaito was very near panicking.

"Oh am I now?" Kid took a calm sip from his own glass before holding out the other for Shinichi.

Surprisingly enough, the detective took the drink and drained it. "I bet I can drink you under the table."

"Y-You drink?" Kid stuttered, taken aback at Shinichi's seemingly uncharacteristic behavior. "Even though you're underage?" He'd seemed fairly straight-laced.

"Yep." Shinichi began filling up another glass. "You'd better hurry. I'm one glass up on you already. You're going to look pretty silly losing to a kid like me, Mr. 'Ageless Phantom'."

Kaito thought they were both going to look pretty silly at the end of the night getting blind drunk.

Still, he shrugged and downed his own glass. It burned. He'd impersonated a sommelier before, so he'd become very familiar with different kinds of wine, their smells, and their tastes, but he'd never actually drunk wine other than just a sip to be able to identify it.

After the first glass, Kid only feigned drinking, disposing of the liquid whenever Shinichi was distracted.

Shinichi had had five glasses back to back and was beginning to look a little green when Kid stopped him, saying, "Tantei-kun, I'm at my limit. Despite what you may think, I do know when to give up and admit my defeat. You win."

"Ha!" The detective stuck out his chest and laughed with pride. It kind of reminded Kaito of Nakamori-keibu or that idiot Detective Mouri. "Take that, Kid. I've finally won!"

"Yep. It's my loss. You've beaten me entirely." He felt a little bad about letting Kudo get so drunk when he himself had only had one glass, but…this was work, nothing personal.

It started getting personal very quickly when Shinichi crawled forward onto the coffee table and cupped Kid's cheek. "You're pretty for a thief, you know…. You're pretty for a guy."

"Tantei-kun, I think you've had a bit too much to drink," Kid laughed nervously, pulling away but not getting too far because of the chain-gang-style ankle bracelet connecting them.

"I think you haven't had enough," Shinichi returned, continuing his advance, scooting closer until there was no coffee table left for Kid to retreat on. Shinichi reached out and took Kid's face in his palm once more.

"Tantei-kun, I—"

"—Shinichi," the detective corrected. "Look at the moon, Kid. It's as big as your pupils."

Kaito's mouth went dry. Now was not a good time for his little crush to be making itself apparent. "It's just…just…the dim lighting! The alcohol!"

Shinichi shook his head. "It's lust." He leaned in to capture Kaito's lips.

Kaito backpedaled, falling off of the table and to the floor.

Shinichi followed, pinning the thief and pressing his lips to Kaito's.

At first, Kaito fought it, desperately squirming and thrashing, trying to throw Shinichi off, but then Kaito's bucking hips just so happened to come in contact with Shinichi's thigh, and the sudden friction nearly knocked Kaito out. He was seeing stars, and not just the ones brightly shinning outside of the window.

The brain in Kaito's head only came back online half an hour later, and it was then that he realized that his shirt was unbuttoned; his tie, suit jacket, and hat were gone; and his pants were soon to follow.

"Stop!" he gasped as Shinichi attacked his pants zipper.

Shinichi briefly paused.

"Y-You're drunk. We shouldn't be doing this! You're too drunk to be making these kinds of decisions!"

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "I'm not _that_ drunk. Notice that my words are perfectly clear? No slurring. Here." Shinichi grabbed the second bottle of wine he'd opened earlier and took some into his mouth. He pressed his lips to Kaito's once more and force-fed the wine to the thief.

"Stop!" Kaito protested again.

"Shh," Shinichi soothed, repeating his actions and forcing wine down Kaito's throat again. "Have some more wine. Loosen up. We both want this, right? I mean…you like me too, don't you?"

Kaito blinked. "'Too'?"

Shinichi blushed, looking away. "Well…yeah. I mean…I like you. Do you like me too?"

Kaito nodded. "I thought…Mouri-chan?"

Shinichi shook his head.

"But…don't you want to have me arrested and put in jail?" Kaito gulped.

Shinichi shook his head again. "I want to _capture_ you. You know…a little bit like now. It's just part of the game to turn you in to the police at the end. You always get away first, though, and then we get to play again next time. I don't actually want to see you behind bars. You're a beautiful creature that deserves to be free."

"You're not just saying all that to get me into bed with you, right?" Kaito shifted uncomfortably beneath his rival…crush.

Shinichi shook his head and smiled.

"Earlier…when I was teasing you about this being the honeymoon suite and you entertaining me…you looked all grumpy. Only after you started drinking did you seem interested in me. Were you just playing hard to get, or…?" Kaito fidgeted, trying not to look Shinichi directly in the eyes, but his gaze kept getting stuck there. He really did feel like he was being held captive by those enticing ocean blue orbs.

Shinichi leaned in and drew a long, sloppy kiss from Kaito's lips. "You're an infamous flirt, and I really do have feelings for you. I was cranky earlier because I thought you were just teasing me, and it hurt. I only got up the courage to actually make a move on you and really go for it after I'd had a bit to drink. By the way, you weren't the only one just pretending to drink."

"How many glasses did you really have?" Even though Kaito hadn't had much alcohol, the crazy cocktail of hormones rushing through his body was making him feel incredibly drunk.

"Three." Shinichi smirked. "That's my limit. The fourth glass is the difference between feeling tipsy and being drunk, and I don't like crossing that line. So…uh…that waterbed over there looks a lot more comfortable than the floor, doesn't it?"

Kaito knew he should say no. Really, what the hell was he thinking? He was at work…utterly disheveled and currently making out with his opponent. He could have slapped himself, but…Shinichi liked him too. Shinichi wanted him too, and they still had two hours and fifty-two minutes. Kaito could afford to kill another hour or two pleasantly with Shinichi, and then he'd still have plenty of time to straighten his rumpled clothing, freshen up, and make preparations for his escape.

"Okay, but I don't go any further than second base on a first date," Kaito tentatively agreed.

But then the hormonal teenage part of his brain took over, and he found himself voluntarily tossing his shirt and pants aside, anything to get more friction, more skin-on-skin contact.

"Shinichi," he whimpered as the detective sucked on his collarbone, surely leaving a sizable hickey behind.

"What's your name?" Shinichi asked huskily about fifteen minutes later when he broke his torrential barrage of kisses for air.

Kaito knew he shouldn't. This was bad. Shinichi had seen…well, _everything_, and if he had a name to go with it… Shinichi could be wearing a wire. This could all be a clever trap, and geez, Kaito was going to feel like such an idiot loser when Shinichi laughed at him and declared his victory…only…Shinichi wasn't wearing _anything_ at all.

Shinichi kissed him again. "I love you. What's your name?"

"Kaito," Kaito whispered.

"Kaito. Kaito. Kaito," Shinichi called between kisses, and Kaito was done for.

"I love you," Kaito mumbled against Shinichi's shoulder.

Shinichi pushed up on his hands and knees to face Kaito and look him in the eye. "I…I want you." Shinichi seemed to be holding his breath as he looked down hesitantly, nervously, questioning and pleading, at Kaito.

Kaito gulped and nodded.

…

Shinichi collapsed on the bed beside Kaito, and the thief sidled up to his mate, resting his head on Shinichi's chest to listen to the erratic pounding of Shinichi's heart.

"Wow," Shinichi whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of Kaito's head.

"I love you," Kaito chuckled, stretching like a cat.

"I love you too," Shinichi hummed happily.

"Does this mean that we're dating now?" Kaito held his breath. He should have thought about how this would complicate things before he'd gotten into bed with the detective. He didn't want this to be an open relationship, no strings attached. Kaito wanted all of Shinichi. He wanted commitment and anniversaries and silly "Just wanted you to know I was thinking about you" texts and chocolate and flowers and rings and promises and a house with a white picket fence and five children and three dogs and two cats and a soccer mom van. He wanted good mornings and I made you breakfasts and have a good day at works and don't forget your lunches and I'll miss yous and I'm homes and how was your days and I made your favorite for dinners and good nights and I love yous.

"We…don't have to be," Shinichi replied hesitantly, lightly stroking Kaito's hair. "If you don't want to. I don't…I don't particularly care."

Kaito's heart lurched. He sat up and glared down at Shinichi. "How can you say that after you just told me that you love me?! What the hell do you mean that you don't care?! If you really loved me, you'd fight for me!"

"D-Do you _want_ to be my boyfriend?" Shinichi held his breath, not daring to hope. "I just thought…I was happy to just be one of your consorts. You're an illustrious phantom thief…a free spirit; I didn't presume to tie you down by exerting any kind of claim on you."

"I'm monogamous, and I do remember saying that I was in love with you," Kaito snorted. "You do the math."

Shinichi beamed. "Really?"

Kaito rolled his eyes, snuggling up to Shinichi once more. "Really."

"You really want to be 'mine'?" Shinichi could barely contain his excitement.

"I gave you my virginity; what more do you want?" Kaito grumbled into Shinichi's pectoral.

"How about your phone number?" Shinichi returned, knowing better than to comment on the fact that Kaito had been a virgin. "And your last name? God, I know so little about you, Kaito. I wanna know everything."

"We don't have that kind of time on our hands. I've got fifteen minutes before I have to go shower and prepare for my daring escape. Later, though. I promise to tell you all about me later." Kaito closed his eyes, basking in the warmth and the glow. He was so comfortable there in Shinichi's arms. He'd be glad to stay there forever, if only they could. Unfortunately, they both lived very full lives, and their schedules simply wouldn't allow them to lie around in bed all day simply enjoying each other's company.

"Well…can we start right now with your full name?" Shinichi pressed.

"Kuroba Kaito," Kaito conceded.

Shinichi nodded. "I'm guessing that that famous magician Kuroba Touichi was your father?"

Now it was Kaito's turn to nod, but he didn't give a verbal reply. That was a conversation for another time. For now, he really just wanted to lie there in Shinichi's loose hold with his boyfriend petting his hair.

Fifteen minutes passed way too quickly, and soon it was time for Kaito to get showered and dressed. Luckily, Shinichi joined him for the shower. Unfortunately, that made the shower take a whole lot longer than Kaito had originally planned on.

Once they were toweled off and dressed, Kaito turned to Shinichi and gave him a goodbye kiss. "I love you," he reminded Shinichi before knocking the sleuth out with one of his sleeping gas capsules.

Kid was back to work. It wasn't anything personal; he just had a job to do, and that job involved escaping without being apprehended by the police thanks to his oh so charming and clever detective boyfriend.

Kaito did, however, leave a note: "I love you! Breakfast tomorrow morning at nine? Call me!" He left his phone number at the bottom of the note and signed it with a four-leaf clover.

Hopefully Shinichi wouldn't be too upset about the whole sleeping gas thing and actually would call.

Speaking of cell phones. Kaito pulled out his and took a picture of Shinichi's sleeping face, saving it as his background. And then, with a smirk and a giddy chuckle, the Kaitou Kid was on his way, back on the job.

The

End

…

Mikau: There. What did you think? If you have a minute, I'd love to hear about what you liked/what was half-baked/what was funny/what fell flat. Thank you so much for reading guys! I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks in advance for your reviews! I appreciate you guys taking the time to give me some feedback and help me improve! Take care!


	2. Regrouping

Mikau: Hi guys! It's so good to see you again! You convinced me that this needed a second chapter, and now it's going to be a three part story. That always seems to happen with fics I intend to be one-shots. ^.^; Oh well. I've also got another new KaiShin fic up today called Caught Up In You. I hope you'll take a look at it too. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed last time: Bunnyz-chan, MeitanteiRose, NariGray, DragonSorceress22, mochiusagi, GeekyGenius, and Mai-chan63!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, I'd know for sure who the heck Subaru-san really is already. As of yet, I'm still not quite caught up on the anime, am further behind on the manga, and am just enjoying the fan theories.

…

Regrouping

It was unusual but not unheard of for Shinichi to wake up not knowing where he was. Typically this meant that he had been kidnapped in conjunction with a case, but presently that didn't seem to fit the bill. He was lying on the couch in what seemed to be a fancy suite room on a luxury liner.

His head was pounding, and he had the faint taste of wine and…French vanilla (?) on his tongue. His mind was in a dense fog, functioning slowly as if trying to run through gelatin. He sat up, and it was then that he noticed the note that had been secured to his lapel.

"I love you! Breakfast tomorrow morning at nine? Call me!" it read.

What?

Shinichi frowned, blinking a few times.

OH.

It all came back at once, hitting him like a poorly-aimed baseball pitch.

Shinichi mumbled quiet curses as he checked the time. He had about ten minutes to get his act together before they came into the port. At least Kaito had waited until after Shinichi was showered and dressed to sleep gas him. At least he looked presentable for his walk of shame past the Taskforce and the other officers waiting on the docks to capture the thief.

Shinichi sighed, not sure how to feel about this sudden—very, very sudden—turn of events. On one hand, his long-time crush returned his feelings and was oh so good in bed. On the other hand, Shinichi had just slept with a guy he didn't really know all that well. And then there happened to be all the legal complications tied up in Kuroba Kaito's night job. And after that, almost an afterthought, was Shinichi's reputation. The great gentleman thief and one of the detectives out to capture him? Shinichi'd be ruined if anyone found out.

Shinichi ran both hands through his hair and took some much-needed cleansing breaths.

Just what the heck had he been thinking?! He hadn't been thinking—that was the problem! At least…he hadn't been thinking with the brain housed inside his skull, that's for sure, and the wine probably hadn't helped things, but…Kaito.

Wow.

Kaito. Just the thought of his boyfriend—his BOYFRIEND! _HIS_ boyfriend!—was enough to bring a face-splitting grin to his lips. A sense of euphoria overtook him as he remembered Kaito's half-lidded eyes delirious with pleasure…the feeling of Kaito's bare skin on his own, the heat and the sweat and the friction…the taste of Kaito: sweet like chocolate and French vanilla.

Shinichi had no doubts. It was worth it. Whatever happened to Shinichi because of his relationship with Kaito was worth it. Having that embodiment of all that was good and beautiful in his life was worth whatever pain, suffering, or trials that came along with it.

But this sleeping gas nonsense was going to stop.

Shinichi struggled to frown, but he just couldn't manage it. He should be annoyed and upset. Didn't Kaito trust him? What the hell had that been? Shinichi was unable to produce anything more than mild displeasure. Maybe he was still coming down from his Kaito-induced high? He'd try annoyance again tomorrow.

Speaking of tomorrow…breakfast with Kaito! Just the prospect of seeing Kaito again was making a flock of butterflies go crazy in Shinichi's stomach. He was excited and nervous and just plain giddy. He needed to call Kaito and finalize plans. Were they meeting at Shinichi's house or…Shinichi didn't even know where Kaito lived. They'd have to fix that and cement their plans.

Only, not now. First, Shinichi had to compose himself and get off of the boat. He had to concentrate. Come up with some kind of excuse as to where he'd been the entire evening and why his breath reeked of alcohol.

Thank goodness for his years as Conan; they had given him the uncanny ability to lie his way out of any situation. They'd made him a seasoned actor—after all, he'd acted out the part of Edogawa Conan for two entire freaking years. He was really going to need his acting abilities in order to look Nakamori-keibu in the eye and say that Shinichi had no idea what had happened to Kid.

Guilt was already beginning to fizzle and burn in the pit of his stomach, eating away at the lining like acid.

He kept reminding himself that he only had to pull this off and there would be breakfast with Kaito in the morning. Shinichi's body hummed in ecstatic anticipation at the very thought. A little less than ten hours, and he'd see Kaito again! Even ten hours was too long.

…

"How did the heist go?" Hakuba greeted, gaze flickering up from his cold case file as Kaito closed the door to their dorm room with a sigh.

"You don't have to wait up for me, you know, Haku-chan. It's, like, one in the morning." Kaito shrugged off his jacket, toed off his shoes, and belly-flopped onto Saguru's bed, the lower bunk placed next to and right up against the detective's desk. "Geez. You're not my mom, you know." Kaito's lazy grin faded into a slight frown. "Come to think of it, my mom didn't even wait up for me back in high school. She was never really home."

Hakuba rolled his eyes fondly, slipping off his reading glasses. "Kuroba, we both know that if I didn't wait up for you, you'd pout and carry on the entire next day about how I didn't love you and didn't care if you were safe or if anything had happened to you, you little brat."

Kaito smirked, his expression reading, "Guilty as charged".

"Besides," Saguru started to pack up his things as Kaito inched forward on his stomach, closer to the desk at the end of the bed. "I'm a college student. Aren't I supposed to stay up until the wee hours of the morning?"

"Yeah. Partying," Kaito chuckled, reaching out to poke Saguru's cheek. "Not solving decade-old crimes."

Hakuba shrugged, putting the file he'd been working on away. "I prefer the company of the case files to drunken frat boys and loose women. How was the heist? Did everything go well?"

Kaito shrunk, brow scrunching up in a mix of annoyance and embarrassment. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure we've had this discussion before: I'm not Kid."

Saguru rolled his eyes once more as he slipped off his house scuffs and climbed over Kaito to sit on his bed. "Right, right. Because you're trying to protect me. Plausible deniability and all that. Of course. Well, Kuroba Kaito did attend the heist. I know so because I was the one that helped him procure his ticket to get on the ship. I'll ask you again, how was the heist? Did everything go well?"

At this, Kaito could no longer hold his carefully guarded poker face together. He blushed madly, sitting up and clutching one of Saguru's pillows to his chest, holding it between them like a buffer or some kind of shield he could hide behind. Suddenly he was feeling shy like a school girl in love for the first time.

Hakuba took note of his friend's strange reactions.

"I…met someone."

Saguru's look was skeptical. "Oh? Seriously? At a Kid heist? Please don't try to convince me that one of Kid's crazy fangirls is actually perfectly nice and mentally stable."

"Haku-chan, I'm serious here," Kaito grumbled as his shoulders hunched even more and he hid his ever reddening face behind the pillow.

Saguru sighed, shaking his head. "Right. Well, allow me to inform you that it was probably just the alcohol—Yes, I smell the wine you your breath."

Kaito puffed up his cheeks and threw the pillow at his roommate. "Don't be such a jerk! I'm completely serious, and I'm trying to tell you that I slept with someone, you insensitive moron."

Hakuba's mouth dropped open, and he gaped, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, at Kaito. He blinked a few times as Kaito squirmed uncomfortably, really wishing he had that pillow back to hide behind.

Suddenly the detective's brain came back online, and he skipped the "You can't be serious" and "Are you a complete moron" parts of the conversation, jumping right in to damage control with: "She didn't see your face, did she?"

Kaito gulped. Oh, Shinichi had seen far more than just Kaito's face. If there was an inch of Kaito's skin that Shinichi hadn't seen, touched, and/or had in his mouth Kaito would eat his top hat.

"Kaito," Saguru growled in that quiet, controlled rage that was somehow more terrifying than if the Brit had been yelling.

"O-Of course they did. I _slept_ with them." Suddenly telling his best friend about Shinichi was feeling like a mistake, but…Saguru would find out sooner or later. Kaito didn't plan on being discrete about the fact that he was head over heels in love with Kudo Shinichi.

Hakuba sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose. "No matter. If it becomes an issue, we'll just say that Kid disguised himself as you. If it should come to it, we'll discredit her. I know some very good attorneys, and I'm sure we'll be able to dig up some dirt on her."

"Haku-chan," Kaito grumbled.

"Kuroba, you should know that you must always prepare for the worst," Saguru scolded. "And don't even give me that 'I'm not Kid' nonsense. We're through playing that game for the moment. Now, tell me that you used protection."

Kaito blinked. Oh. Uh…. Whoops?

"Kuroba Kaito," Saguru snarled. "Are you utterly insane? You don't know what kind of bugs she could be carrying! We're taking you in for testing. And what if she gets pregnant!? I can do many things for you, but I can't do anything about DNA evidence. If they have the results of a paternity test with a woman claiming she slept with the Kaitou Kid…God, we're sunk." Hakuba sighed, burying his face in his hands. "Kaito, I can't protect you from something like that."

Kaito matched Saguru's sigh, scooting closer to lie down at the blonde's side. "You don't have to protect me from anything—"

"—I have to protect you from everything!" Hakuba cut in, removing his hands from his face to glare lovingly down at his best friend. "You're the obnoxious, hopeless younger brother that I never had. Protecting you is my job. Besides, Aoko and your mother depend on me to look after you."

Kaito shook his head, blushing anew. "Haku-chan, thank you, but I meant that you don't have to protect me from anything in this case. I slept with a _guy_. Kudo Shinichi."

Saguru's face went as pasty white as glue. "Does he know who you are?"

Kaito nodded with a lovesick smile. "It's okay. You know how I've been crushing on him for a while? It turns out he likes me too!" Kaito sang. "It was super romantic. We were in the honeymoon suite on the boat, and—"

"—Kaito, if Kudo Shinichi knows who you are, we've got to get you out of the country as soon as possible," Saguru interrupted Kaito's dreamy reverie in that stone cold serious voice he normally reserved for discussing serial killers. "The police could be here any minute. Go. Take my passport. Disguise as me and take the next flight to—"

"—Haku-chan, Shinichi loves me," Kaito snorted, propping himself up. "No police are coming to get me. I'm going out with my BOYFRIEND for breakfast tomorrow. Look, I appreciate your concern and the lengths to which you're willing to go for me, but—"

"—Kaito, this could all be a trap," Saguru protested.

"I considered that, believe me, before I got in bed with him…well…okay, about halfway between the time when my shirt came off and when I let him take off my pants, but—ANYWAY…Haku-chan, he _loves_ me."

Saguru frowned as he looked down at his dear friend.

Kaito looked back with pleading eyes.

Saguru sighed. "He'd better, because if he hurts you, there will be hell to pay…. But, Kaito, he doesn't even _know_ you. What kind of idiot jumps into bed with someone they don't even know?"

"It happens all the time," Kaito grumbled. "Besides, he does too know me. Not Kuroba Kaito, not on a really personal level yet, but…we met at a heist almost three years ago now. He's known me almost as long as you have. He knows what I'm like. At heists he's able to get inside my head. He can read me. He knows what I'm going to do almost as soon as I do. He knows my character…my morals. He knows enough to start a relationship with me. Okay, maybe jumping in bed was jumping the gun a little, but…he does know me, and even if he doesn't know me especially well, he will with time. And besides, I know him.

"I've been keeping tabs on him for a looong time. I know how he takes his coffee and his favorite TV shows and what book he's reading, the way he goes to school, what supermarket he shops at, where he buys his clothes, his favorite foods—"

"—So you've been stalking him?" Saguru snickered.

Kaito pursed his lips, crinkling his brow. "You remember when we first met and you were convinced I was Kid, so you started following me and taking pictures and even went so far as to hide in the bushes outside of my house so you could watch me?"

Saguru's face went raspberry red all the way to the tips of his ears. "Oh. You mean when I was _researching_ you. I see. So you've been _researching_ Kudo?"

Kaito smirked like a well-fed feline. "Yes. Exactly. So we're not strangers, and now Shin-chan loves me too, and we're meeting tomorrow for breakfast."

Saguru took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Okay. You're absolutely positive he's sincere?"

Kaito's phone made the text alert noise before he could assure his brother of sorts yet again.

Kaito's face lit up when he looked at the message on the screen. He beamed, reading it aloud to his best friend. "Shin-chan says, 'Hey, Kaito. I love you too. Sorry for not calling. I wasn't sure what time you'd be going to bed, so I thought a text would be better. Would you like to meet at my house at nine tomorrow and walk to a nearby café for breakfast? My treat. I can't wait to see you. Sweet dreams. I love you.'"

Saguru's frown softened slightly. "It doesn't seem to be a trap. Though, I'll have to meet with him in person to inform him that he's treading on thin ice, so he'd better be careful with you."

"Geez," Kaito chuckled brightly, slightly embarrassed. "Seriously, you're not my mom."

"Right. I'm your brother, and it's an older brother's duty to protect his younger siblings from perverts and scoundrels," Saguru informed him solemnly.

Kaito rolled his eyes. "Of which Shinichi is neither. And I'm older than you."

"You sure don't act like it," Hakuba returned.

Kaito shrugged. "Thanks for caring, Haku-chan. It's super sweet that you're all protective of me and everything, but I'm not gonna get my heart broken. Shinichi's serious about me, so I don't want you terrorizing him and scaring him off, okay?"

Saguru sighed, settling down on the bed beside Kaito. "Oh, alright, but I am going to keep him on a short chain for a while, and don't expect me to be nice to him. If he screws up…" Saguru let the threat hang.

Kaito giggled, closing his eyes. "Mmhm. It'll be fine."

"…Were you sleeping down here tonight?" Saguru asked when it didn't appear that Kaito planned on climbing up to the top bunk.

"Can I? I'm tired. It was kind of a crazy night, and…I don't really feel like sleeping by myself, if you don't mind." Kaito bit his lip, cheeks turning rosy.

He felt like such a kid, but…that had been his first time, and…he didn't want to be alone. Even if it wasn't Shinichi, he wanted another warm body beside him, a reassuring presence, and he and Hakuba had done this before. Whenever there had been a particularly disturbing case or when Kaito had had a bad run-in with the Organization, the boys had shared a bed, shared warmth, shared comfort.

"That's perfectly fine," Saguru assured, smiling softly. "Why don't you get settled in under the covers? I'll get the light."

"Thanks, Haku-chan," Kaito yawned.

"Yes, yes. Just don't steal all the covers, alright?"

But Kaito was already sound asleep.

Saguru sighed, still smiling and chuckling a little as he tucked Kaito in. "Utterly hopeless."

…

Shinichi couldn't sleep. He'd been up since six in the morning, waking with a start, checking the clock to make sure he wasn't late for his date with Kaito, sighing heavily when the clock told him it would still be a few hours until he saw the love of his life again, and then drifting back off, dozing until he repeated the process a few minutes later.

It was agonizing. He wanted his Kaito, and he wanted him NOW. This was cruel and unusual punishment, him being kept from his true love.

At six thirty he couldn't take it anymore. He got out of bed and had a light snack so that he wouldn't ruin his appetite for breakfast with Kaito. He hopped in the shower, spending an extra ten minutes really scrubbing down so he'd be fresh. After he was finished, when it came time to put his clothes for the day on, Shinichi was at a complete loss as to what to wear.

This had never happened before. Usually Shinichi's wardrobe was kind of streamlined. He wore slacks, a button-down shirt, a suit jacket, and a tie. Somehow…that didn't seem right for a date with Kaito. Too formal. They were just going to a diner.

Maybe Shinichi should wear a t-shirt and jeans or something? God no! Too casual! He'd look like a slob! Or worse: Conan. Conan had worn t-shirts and jeans and all sorts of things really. Well, at fist he'd worn that dorky suit jacket and bowtie, but he'd been comfortable in those. He'd gotten used to dressing like an adult so that the police and the clients would take him seriously, but…now Shinichi didn't know what to wear. How did one dress to hang out with one's peers? It had been so long since Shinichi had done that. He was always so busy with school work and cases.

Ran would know what to wear. She had started picking out his clothes as Conan after a few months of the dorky suit/shorts/bowtie routine. Once they'd become comfortable with each other and she'd become more of his mom/big sister than anything. She'd flat out told him that he dressed too mature for his age and that he needed some clothes that he could run around and play in since that's what he spent the majority of his time doing anyway.

Still wrapped in his towel, he went over to the nightstand and grabbed his phone, punching in a number he had long since memorized.

"Sh-Shinichi?" A slightly groggy voice picked up.

"Hey, Ran. Sorry. Did I wake you?" He bit his lip, glancing at the clock. It was just now turning seven in the morning. Usually she was up and at 'em, but today was a Saturday; it wouldn't be too unusual for her to be having a lazy, relaxing morning now that she didn't have Conan to make breakfast for. Occhan wouldn't be up for a while, after all.

"No. It's fine. I was just sleeping in a little today. I really should be up anyway," she assured, chuckling with that gorgeous, lyrical laugh he had once treasured so much. "Did you need something, Shinichi?"

"Uh, yeah." Shinichi blushed, feeling absolutely idiotic. "Look, I have this date today." Suddenly he was wondering if he should be telling her. They'd just broken up not even a year ago, and they'd been deadly serious about each other. They'd promised to always be friends, but…was he being insensitive? Was it too soon? She'd been the one to end things, but… "Uh…we're going to breakfast just at a little diner, but…Ran, what do I wear? You've got such great fashion sense. Can you help me?"

There was silence as Ran blinked the sleep out of her eyes, stretching as she sat up in bed. "A date?" Her voice sounded normal; Shinichi couldn't detect any hint of remorse, jealousy, or pain. "Who are you going on a date with?"

Shinichi shifted uncomfortably. "Just…you know…a person." No. Really? Because I assumed you'd be dating an alien or a ghost or something, Shinichi. "Just a person I met at a Kid heist."

"Oh." Ran sounded disappointed. He could almost hear her thinking "You're dating one of Kid's floozies?" "What's her name?"

Shinichi paused. Did he want to tell her about Kaito? She'd find out sooner or later; I mean, Shinichi wasn't exactly planning on keeping Kaito a secret. Even though Shinichi and Ran's relationship had become a little…strained? No. Just awkward what with everything that had happened between them. Regardless, she was still his best friend…besides Hattori.

Shoot. Hattori was going to be jealous. He'd probably get all territorial and whiney. Hattori was kind of like a puppy like that; he wouldn't take kindly to this new guy in Shinichi's life, seeing it as a challenge to Hattori's best friend status.

_Anyway!_ Ran had been a lot of things to him, but above all she was his best friend from birth. She deserved to know about Shinichi's _boy_friend.

"His name is Kuroba Kaito." Shinichi held his breath.

There was unnerving silence and then, "…Oh?" Her tone was neutral. She didn't seem outraged or disgusted.

"He's…he's brilliant and funny and just absolutely gorgeous, Ran. I really like him, and we're going on our first date, so…I just want it to go well. I don't want to screw it up, so…what do I wear?" Shinichi gulped.

Ran broke out in a fit of giggles. "Shinichi, you're just adorable. I wish I could see your face right now! I'm really happy that you found someone that you like. Don't worry. You're a good catch; I'm sure everything will be fine."

"Really?" He was actually kind of surprised. She seemed to be taking this really well.

"Mmhm," she assured. "Just wear some khaki pants and a polo shirt. Leave the top two buttons undone so that you can see your collarbone, okay?"

"Yeah?" He glanced back at his closet. "What color polo?"

"The white one with those thin blue stripes," she instructed. "Was that all you needed, Shinichi?"

"Yeah," he chuckled sheepishly. "Yeah. Sorry. Thanks, Ran."

"Don't worry about it," she returned the laugh. "You'll be fine, Shinichi…. And…Shinichi?"

"Yeah?" His grin faded slightly. Her tone had gone all serious.

"Shinichi, you'll have to introduce me to Kuroba-kun sometime. Maybe we can do a double date."

Double date? The words hit Shinichi like a bullet to the shoulder, knocking him off balance.

He swallowed hard. "Ran, do you have a boyfriend?"

"Mmhm," she hummed, and he could tell she had that "delicate maiden in love" smile on her lips. "We've been seeing each other for about four months now. Hondou Eisuke. I'm really glad that you're starting to move on too, Shinichi."

Suddenly Shinichi felt better, remembering that even though things hadn't worked out with the woman he'd desperately loved, he still had Kaito, and didn't that more than make up for it?

"Yeah," he chuckled with a giddy smile. "Thanks again, Ran. I've got to go get dressed, but I'll talk to you later, and maybe I can introduce you to Kaito sometime soon, okay?"

"Okay. Have fun, Shinichi!"

Shinichi hung up with a smile, feeling oddly at peace about this whole letting go of Ran and moving on business. It felt right.

He went to his closet and dug out the recommended outfit. He pressed it and carefully put the clothes on before heading to the bathroom to do something about his hair. If he didn't brush it before it dried, it'd be sticking up at weird angles. He couldn't do anything about his perpetual cowlick, but he'd long since resigned himself to wearing it with pride as his personal trademark.

Once he'd finished dressing, it was still only seven thirty, and he still had an unbearably long time to wait before he got to see his darling.

…

Mikau: Yes, I know there was no Kaito and Shinichi interaction this chapter. Don't worry. It's all KaiShin in chapter number three. Hopefully you still enjoyed this chapter, though. I thought that the boys really needed some time to calm down and process and go over things with their respective best friends before they saw each other again. They kind of have a bit of a whirlwind romance going here, so I think they needed a little time apart to step back, look at the bigger picture, and really think. Thanks so much for joining me for chapter two, and I hope you'll tune in for chapter three as well. It should be up next week with my regular round of updates. Thanks so much for reading, guys, and thanks in advance for your reviews! Have a great week!


	3. Resolution and Clarity

Mikau: Hi everyone! I'm pretty pleased with how this chapter turned out, actually. I think it ties everything up nicely, but I'll let you be the judge of that. Not many updates this week, but next week I should have Roses and CTM. Maybe the second chapter of Caught Up in You and HP too if we're lucky. Cross your fingers. Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! I appreciate you guys so much: NariGray, Bunnyz-chan, Great, GeekyGenius, MeitanteiRose, and incandescent stars!

Disclaimer: If I owned it, they'd have more trips to Kyoto because I'm homesick. I saw episode 694 the other day and started crying as soon as I saw Kyoto Station and Kyoto Tower reflecting off of it. (My brother thinks I'm crazy.) I wanna go home! T.T (My parents shake their heads at me and tell me I AM home. In America. Don't listen to them. I belong in Kyoto, I tell you.) Ahem.

…

Chapter Three: Resolution and Clarity

Kaito showed up early at eight fifty-two. He'd spent the morning driving Hakuba crazy before the Brit had just flat out told him to bugger off and go early before Saguru hit him over the head with something.

"Hey," Shinichi whispered breathlessly as he greeted Kaito at the door. And wasn't Kaito even more lovely in the bright light of day? Though, wait. Kid had been absolutely stunning by the light of the moon. Shinichi couldn't decide which view of Kaito he liked best, but one thing he did know for certain was that he would be perfectly content to just stare at this divine creature for the rest of eternity.

God. Had Kaito really consented to being his? Just his? Had Shinichi really made love to this Adonis-shaming man, or had it only been a dream among dreams?

"Hey." Kaito smiled, making Shinichi's chest tighten. Kaito returned the sheepish chuckle and adoring gaze, and Shinichi thought he'd just die right then and there. It was too perfect.

And then Shinichi realized that he probably looked pretty stupid just standing there in the doorway drooling over the other guy. Hopefully Haibara hadn't seen. Drat. There would be sooo much teasing if she had. Maybe he'd get lucky and she wouldn't be out fetching the morning paper at eight fifty-five like she did every Saturday morning? No such luck. He'd apparently used a lifetime's worth the previous evening when Kaito had said that he returned Shinichi's feelings. Haibara was standing on her own front porch smirking and enjoying the show as Shinichi went to pieces over just how beautiful and perfect Kaito was.

Shinichi snapped back to attention. "Hey, how are you feeling? I mean…is your body okay?" A cute strawberry red color rose in Shinichi's cheeks.

Kaito just smiled and laughed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Me? I'm fine, thanks. I mean…well…sure, I'm a little sore, but…you were gentle with me, and it was well worth a little stiffness and some minor aches. It'll hurt less once I get used to it." A sly, Kid-smirk took over Kaito's face. "Until then, _you'll_ just have to be on the receiving end of things, Darling."

Suddenly Shinichi felt like he was going to pass out, thinking of what they had done together the previous evening. His skin on Kaito's, not a thread in between them. Was it hot in here, or was it just him?

"Hey, Kaito? I'd gladly be willing to switch positions with you next time, but…honestly, last night, I might have been a little more drunk than I initially thought. Making love to you seemed like a genius idea at the time, but—"

Kaito's smile was fading fast. "—You're not going to say that sleeping with me was a mistake, are you?" There was a quiet terror in Kaito's voice. "Do you regret it?"

"What? NO! No. Sorry. What I meant was…Even thought it was spectacular and I wouldn't change a thing, I think things happened a little fast between us," Shinichi revised, careful not to give his boyfriend the wrong idea. "I know we've known each other professionally for a couple years now, and you probably know everything about me from the times that you impersonated me, but…we've never really spent a lot of time together like this…just Kaito and Shinichi hanging out, getting to know one another. What I'm trying to tell you is that I really want to buy you some flowers and some chocolates and take you on a couple dates before we jump right back into bed again."

"Oh." Kaito nodded, eyes wide in understanding.

"I'm really serious about you," Shinichi pledged, taking Kaito's hands in his own. "I honor and respect you. I want to be your honest to goodness boyfriend, not just the guy that you sleep with. I want to do this right, so…is that okay, Kaito?"

Kaito just smiled and blushed, nodding before he leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to Shinichi's cheek. "I love you, Shinichi."

"I love you too." Shinichi took a step forward and took Kaito's lips in a chaste kiss. He really hoped Haibara wasn't still watching.

"Mmmm," Kaito hummed as they pulled apart. "I guess a little abstinence will just build the anticipation and make it that much better the next time we're together, right?"

"Un," Shinichi agreed, savoring the taste of chocolate and the smell of French vanilla. Everything about Kaito was sugary sweet.

"We might have to keep a bucket of water or a hose on hand next time, 'cause you're setting me on fire right now. Make me wait a couple of weeks, and we might just burn the house down," Kaito purred.

"Let it burn," Shinichi whispered, nuzzling Kaito's ear. "I love you enough to wait."

"Let's hurry up and get to breakfast so that you can get to know me and we can get a move on on doing things properly this time," Kaito urged, tugging Shinichi along.

"Right," Shinichi chuckled sheepishly, coming out of his near trance. "I want to know everything about you. It's embarrassing how little I know about the guy I'm in love with. You can tell me all about it over pancakes. This place has the best chocolate chip pancakes. They smoother them in whipped cream and powdered sugar."

"Ooh, pancakes!" Kaito began to hum and whistle happily. "I wouldn't have thought you'd like all of that sugar when you drink your coffee blacker than ink."

Shinichi shrugged, slipping his arm around Kaito's waist and waving nonchalantly at a gawking Haibara as they walked. "I don't really. I get my pancakes totally plain. I just pegged you as having a bit of a sweet tooth."

"See, you know me so well already," Kaito chuckled, wrapping his arm around Shinichi and resting his hand possessively on Shinichi's hip. "You're amazing, Meitantei."

"Nah," Shinichi laughed, letting his head tilt to rest against Kaito's and pressing a kiss there. "_You're_ the amazing one."

"Yeah, I guess I am," the thief tittered.

Shinichi rolled his eyes. "And you're so modest and humble."

"Precisely," Kaito agreed, puffing out his chest a little. "You know, I'd even go so far as to say that I am a spectacular specimen of a boyfriend—maybe the most spectacular there's ever been."

"Yeah," Shinichi agreed softly in that stupid-in-love voice.

Kaito blushed, laughing in embarrassment. "That's when people usually tell me that I'm an idiot."

"Nah. You're spectacular," Shinichi corrected. "I'm lucky."

"Silly," Kaito mumbled, blushing brightly. "I'm the one that got lucky…. Well, I guess we both did technically, but…Hey, after breakfast, wanna take a walk in a park or go play at an arcade or see a movie or sing karaoke or something?"

"You don't want to hear me sing karaoke." Shinichi grimaced. "But I'd be absolutely ecstatic to spend the day with you, Kaito. I can't tell you how hard it was for me being away from you last night."

"Really?" Kaito giggled. "Me too. I was driving my roommate batty this morning while I was waiting to leave to come over to your house. I know it was only for a handful or two of hours, but…I missed you, Shinichi."

"I missed you too."

They shared a dreamy look, eyes caressing each other. They smiled and chuckled, looking away as they went back to walking closely side by side.

"So…would you want to spend the night at my house tonight? Just having a sleepover like regular friends, you know, but…I feel kind of cheated out of our first night together," Shinichi admitted.

"I'll have to run it by my roommate, but I'd totally love that. I sort of felt the same way," Kaito laughed sheepishly.

Shinichi frowned in confusion. "You have to ask your roommate's permission?"

"My roommate is my best friend, Hakuba Saguru," Kaito explained. "He's not really quite on board yet with the whole me and you relationship thing. He's kind of taken it upon himself to act as my older brother, defender of my honor and protector of my heart. He's not convinced that you're any good for me yet, so…"

"Hn." All Shinichi could do hum in wonder. "So he's the overprotective brother-in-law that I have to win over?"

"Yep," Kaito chuckled with a shrug, nonverbally tacking a "What can you do?" on at the end. "There's also Nakamori Aoko, my self-appointed sister of sorts. You'll meet her later. There's also my crazy witch, my grandfather figure/partner in crime, and my actual blood mother…who also used to be…you know. In the 'family business'."

Shinichi blinked. "Wow."

"Yeah." Kaito cast his boyfriend a sheepish smirk. "I believe in full disclosure up front. Just so that you know what you're getting yourself into and don't come crying to me later. My little pseudo-family is as nutso as I am, but you've got mad scientists and police divisions and the Shounen Tanteidan and martial arts champions and bumbling sleeping detectives and famous people and all sorts of other weirdoes hanging around you, so I think we're kind of even."

"Hm." Shinichi pursed his lips. "Yeah, I guess so. One thing's for sure, Thanksgiving is going to be hell, and we'd better introduce each other to our 'families' gradually, one at a time."

Kaito broke out in a miniature giggle fit.

"What?" Shinichi cocked his head to the side. He didn't see what was quite so funny. He waited patiently for Kaito to regain his composure and explain.

"Sorry. It's not that funny; it's just…are you seriously considering a future with a nut job like me? The idea seems absolutely ludicrous. You're…you're Kudo Shinichi, the Great Detective of the East, the Heisei Holmes, the Savior of the Metro Police, Tokyo PD's Golden Boy….You're perfect, Shinichi. What the heck do you think you're doing with me?"

Shinichi shrugged, looking down at his feet and shifting so that he loosely held Kaito's hand in his own. "The usual, I guess. I mean…I know I'm really, really rushing things, thinking about marriage and kids and stuff like that when we've only just started dating yesterday, but…I think I'm going to marry you and have kids and grow old, and…you know…the usual." He looked up at Kaito in uncertainty. "I'm not scaring you off, am I? I know it's weird for me to say I'm in love with you and want to spend the rest of my life with you when I only just found out your name last night, but…"

Kaito smiled gently, giving Shinichi's hand a squeeze of reassurance. "Don't worry. I'm not freaked by your enthusiasm. Commitment doesn't really scare me…. I've kind of had a crush on you for a long time, and I feel like I already know you from…observing and studying you for mostly professional reasons. When it became clear that nothing was going to happen between me and this girl I've always liked—my self-appointed 'sister' Aoko—I started seriously thinking about you. Of course, I thought it would only work out if you were stuck as Conan and couldn't be with Mouri-chan anymore, but—when did you and Mouri-chan break up?"

Shinichi jumped at the sudden severity of Kaito's tone and the intense look in his boyfriend's eyes. "L-Last year. Why?"

Kaito frowned deeply. "I was just thinking… Before I was gonna say that I had long-term plans for you too, so it was okay for you to be thinking about getting married and everything, but…Haku-chan was right. You don't know me like I know you, and you're not the kind of person that would just jump in bed with and go on about loving some guy…some internationally-wanted thief that you barely knew." Kaito fixed Shinichi with serious stare, coming to a stop on the sidewalk. "Am I just a rebound from Mouri-chan?"

The gears in Shinichi's mind ground to a halt, and his jaw went slack, eyes wide. "…No. No, Kaito, of course you're not just…You're not. You're not a rebound. I love you."

"What do you love about me?" Kaito prodded, not unkindly. His voice was gentle, just curious. "You don't really know me, Shinichi, but I do seriously care for you, and I don't want you diving into a relationship with me and getting hurt just because you're all mixed up and still healing from Mouri-chan."

Shinichi's cheeks went cherry red as he looked at the ground, reaching out for both of Kaito's hands. "Okay, so maybe I'm still a little wounded from my whirlwind relationship with Ran. After I got back from Conan, we just…it was too much too fast, and we burnt each other out. I gave her everything, and…it was beautiful and passionate while it lasted, but…she was the one that came to her senses and realized that we weren't going to work out long-term. I won't say that I'm not still hurting, but I think I have come to terms with it, and I've made peace with the situation and how it is."

Kaito nodded, rubbing soothing circles on the backs of Shinichi's hands with his thumbs. "Shinichi, maybe we need to cool things down for a while. Like I said, I don't want you getting hurt, and I personally don't want to be used. I don't mind waiting for you, and I'll absolutely be there to support you, but—"

Shinichi shook his head. "—Look, maybe I'm not at my most emotionally stable right now, Kaito, but you're not just a Band-Aid. I'm serious about you, and you're not just some stranger or mere acquaintance, and you're definitely not just some thief. I _do_ know you, and you mean a lot to me."

Shinichi bit his lip, struggling to grab hold of the right words to explain everything that Kaito had been for him, meant to him. He started tentatively. "I…these past few years…you've been a great source of strength and support to me. When I was Conan…there were days when I felt really, really down. There were times when I just wanted to lie down and give up, days when I thought I'd never be _me_ again. There were times when I considered letting Ran go…setting her free instead of stringing her along.

"There were days when I thought maybe everyone would be better off if Shinichi were gone, but…in all of that darkness, you were always there. You with your taunts and your puzzles, your mischief and your challenges and that aggravating grin of yours. You and your heists were a safe haven for me. When I went head to head against you, you took me seriously despite my outer appearance. I was able to be myself with you. When I was chasing you down, I felt free. Free of all of the anxiety and the stress, the guilt, the lies, and even that little prison my own body had become. Whether you knew it or not, Kaito, you gave me hope and the strength to keep fighting.

"And then after things with Ran went down in flames…on the days I just wanted to curl up in the corner of my room with all of the curtains closed…I got out of bed to get the morning paper and check the news for any notices from you. Crazy enough, always on my worst days there was something—a heist notice, an article. Kaito, you've already gotten me through my darkest times. Kid's already served as my rebound from all of the crap that's happened to me these past three years. Now I'm ready for Kuroba Kaito to be my boyfriend. I think I'm ready for a real relationship with you." Shinichi finally looked up at Kaito with sad eyes only to find the other young man crying softly.

"Shinichi," he whispered, gently cupping his beloved's cheeks and leaning in to nuzzle Shinichi's face and hair and kiss him softly. "Okay. I'm sorry, Shin-chan. It must have been so hard feeling all alone. I'm glad I can be here for you in person now." Slowly Kaito's arms wrapped around Shinichi in a loose, warm hug.

"It wasn't all bad," Shinichi admitted, letting his head rest on Kaito's shoulder. "There was good stuff that happened too. I met a lot of awesome people, some good friends, and I learned a ton about myself. I'm pretty happy with the person I am now because of all of those experiences. It's made me a better man, and it's put me in a position to be with you, so…I have a feeling it's all going to be worth it. Things are really starting to look up." Shinichi put on a small, sincere grin for his darling.

Kaito smiled too, and the world seemed like a brighter place. "Geez, you're adorable," he chuckled, pulling back so that they could start walking again. "Be mine forever."

"Okay," Shinichi agreed with a rosy blush on his cheeks.

"I have the cutest boyfriend ever!" Kaito sang, nuzzling Shinichi's hair and ear. "Shin-chan, I love your vulnerable side. It makes me want to eat you right up." Kaito playfully licked Shinichi's cheek.

"Pft." Shinichi began to crack up as the dreary mood lifted. "Save it for the pancakes, Kaito."

Kaito's eyes lit up, growing to the size of golf balls. "Can I spoon-feed you?"

Shinichi blushed, beginning to squirm uncomfortably. "Not in public, Kaito. Maybe some other time."

"Tomorrow?" Kaito inquired, eyes still shinning. He was like a child begging to play with a new toy. "I'm sleeping over tonight, right, so we can make breakfast together tomorrow, and I can spoon-feed you, right?"

"I guess," Shinichi mumbled, getting embarrassed. He usually wasn't so touchy-feely/lovey-dovey.

"Aww! Tsundere Shin-chan is adorable too!" Kaito cooed, pinching Shinichi's cheek. "You remind me of Tantei-kun. He always used to make faces like that."

"Kaito," Shinichi grumbled.

"Oh! Make the grumpy Tantei-kun face!" Kaito urged.

Shinichi began to pout, playing right into Kaito's hand.

"Sorry," Kaito finally apologized for his teasing, pressing a butterfly kiss to Shinichi's cheek. "I love you," he whispered into Shinichi's ear.

And Shinichi melted, slipping his hand back into Kaito's. "I love you too."

The

End

…

Mikau: Okay. That's seriously the end this time. For realz. Somehow, at the end, Kaito turned into more of the seme, even though he was uke in the first chapter. Hn. Go fig. I mostly write them reversible anyway. Well, I hope you enjoyed it, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts. Thanks so much for reading guys! I really appreciate your support! Take care until we meet again!


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